Posted on 01/14/2009 2:34:57 PM PST by Zakeet
President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.
Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:
"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes'."
The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including from some unexpected quarters.
The end of "don't ask, don't tell" may not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal.
"The question isn't if we do it and the question isn't when we do it, it's how we do it," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush.
"I'm going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks," Tauscher said. "We've got the American people behind us."
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
That's pretty insulting coming from someone who has never served. I was the Commander of two different Groups. That's the same size as a battalion in the Army or Marines, 5-600 people. I believe I know about unit cohesion and morale.
Wasn’t there a report a few years ago that found only about 2% of the population was homosexual? If so, why do these people have so much power?
How can you be a good soldier when watching your fellow soldier's back means something entirely different to homosexuals?
Because they shout a lot.
fact is that these homo’s are targeting the military, not because they want to serve but because they want to bring down a great institution.
They reply on the ignorant who say things like well I know a couple and they are nice they have never hit on me.
This whole thing is just plain stupid, it brings nothing good to the table but only problems and yes it might pass though I doubt it.
They are hoping the ignorant and appeasers will win the day while old Joe in the barracks with another 20 men will have to put up with raving fairy queens.
what’s next sensitivity training for the marine before they deploy to Helmand province
as a military guy
I care
I care who I share a room with, who I have to shower with , who I have to work with , who I have to go into combat and see him bleed, who I have to be with 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Most of the military cares too except maybe a couple of closet homo’s
I can see the potential problems in certain branches of the military and in certain postings- having an open homosexual working in the Pentagon isn't much of an issue, but there can be problems with having one out in a combat zone, given the housing, latrine and showering conditions there.
That being said, this whole thing will probably blow over as servicmen's attitudes towards homosexuality keep shifting to reflect the views of the population in general. In a large degree, this is a generational thing. Older people have much more of an issue with homosexuality than younger ones.
Even if he can't do this jsut through an Executive Order, I doubt getting Congress' approval would be much of an issue. Obama is going to have a lot of political capital to spend during his first few months in office.
In some ways, I'd rather that he use his capital on things like changing this policy. There are a lot more destructive things he could do in his first few months in office.
Clearly you don’t know much about people. I’m sorry if you find that insulting, but your own posts point that out.
not really I know plenty of young guys who are serving and no one wants homo’s
his homepage is quite funny
Well, I don’t quite get it.
I meant cholera joe’s page not citizen , sorry
That's anecdotal evidence, but it doesn't really reflect the changes in attitudes that are already occurring in the military- someone posted an article a while back that showed that, since the Clinton years, servicemen's opposition to allowing open homosexuals to serve had fallen from the mid 70%'s to the high 50%'s.
For good or bad, society is becoming more tolerant of open homosexuality. The attitudes of people joining the military will inevitably be influenced by societal attitudes. Future soldiers don't grow up in a vacuum.
“.......no one (now serving) wants homos”.
Yep. Don’t drop the soap in the showers, Boys.
Remember Obama thinks WW II could have been prevented if FDR had spent MORE on socialism (communist) programs.When did he say such a thing?
What happens when I am given a room and it has two homos init. I walk in and them two are in the bed together, am I supposed to just ignore it, walk out or punch the hell out of the, If I do the latter then it is me who goes to jail..The same as if you see a man and a woman in a bed together.
I beg to differ
I know plenty of young guys in the military, marines, army and Navy, none in the airforce
Not one wants any homo, I have spoken to a few since this broke too so I am not guessing either.
Like I said earlier, a guy round the corner form me is waiting to be deployed, he is 20 years old and has said he will leave if homo’s get what they want .
Lets face it, the homo’s are not doing this to join they are doing it to further their agenda and are counting on the ignorant or the ones who say well I have two friends who are homo’s and they are nice people...
Remember they went to catholic charities to adopt, not because they wanted to adopt but to further their agenda.
they went after the scouts but lost there so they take their little baby tantrum out
They now believe they will push their agenda into a great institution and I predict it will fail as most of those elected will not have the guts to vote for this and if they do then you can guarantee down here in the south that their jobs will be over come election day
Military coup or not?Only if a President were to order something especially horrendous, such as the operation of death camps.
er not
first I have never seen a man and woman in bed in my room I shared in the military but if I did then it is quite normal for them to be in bed it is not normal but more of a disgusting perverted act if I see two men in bed together
why do you not feel sick if you saw two men having sex?
I would
B. Hussein is systematically disarming us meanwhile with a campaign promise to build up his own private military.
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